7-11
by LivingandLovingLife
Summary: "I don't think I could handle something happening to you." - - - Gwen would always remember July 11th as the day he left her, but what happens when he is in danger and returns back in her life?
1. Chapter 1

July 11, 1995

Finally entering the parking lot, Danny Brooks took his car keys out of the ignition. St. Louis summer weather was usually hot, but with the sun just setting this evening and the nice cool breeze that was running through the air, made this evening even more nerve-racking to him. He tilted his head up towards his rear-view mirror, checking to make sure his long, brown locks were still slicked back and that there was no crust in the cracks of his blue eyes or even a single bead of sweat in his brows. He had to look perfect.

Once he was all set, he got out of his car and locked it, placing the keys in his tuxedo pocket. He walked towards the doors of the museum. As he got closer, his vision became clearer and he noticed a familiar face walking towards him.

"I'm so happy your finally here. Mama and Daddy are just jumping out of their seats to meet you." A feminine country accent greeted him, which was none other than his girlfriend of three years, Gwen. They met when Danny first moved to St. Louis and was really his only close friend.

"Gwen, you look amazing," Danny eyed her up and down. Her small, curvy frame was draped in a loose violet glittery ball gown. Knowing her parents, they probably spent a few hundred dollars on it.

She smiled at him, flashing her straight white teeth, "You don't look too bad yourself, hun. Now come on, the exhibition is about to start," Gwen's frail hand left his bulky one, beginning to walk off away from him, before his hand clutched onto her arm.

"Gwen, I need to talk to you about something," he swallowed.

"Danny, can it wait," she looked at him, her gaze mixed with confusion and worry, "My parents are probably freaking out right now."

"Alright, I'll just tell you afterwards." Danny nodded, deciding to take ahold of her hand and walk inside beside her.

The exhibition was slowly beginning to come to a close - most of the artwork that was here had already been auctioned off and some of the attendees had already left. Gwen and her parents were away talking to some other collectors and her siblings had already headed home.

"I guess there's no better time than now," he thought and he got up from his seat at the stranded table, walking towards her parents. He attempted to quietly approach them, but her father had caught him and embrace him in one of those fatherly hugs.

"Carl, Rachel, Richard, I would like you to meet Daniel Brooks," Danny smiled politely, "Daniel, these are the Graysons."

He held is hand out, shaking everyone's hand, "Very nice to meet you all. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves tonight."

Mrs. Grayson grinned, "Such great manners. You never see that in the youth today."

The adults began a discussion about art and Danny listened to it, his hand intertwined with Gwen's for a minute before leaning of and whispering in her ear, "Can we finally have that talk now?"

Gwen gave a nod before speaking up, "Pardon us, we are just going outside for a brief moment. Have a nice night Mr. and Mrs. Grayson." The adults acknowledged them as they walked away and went outside.

It was dark out but there was still warm air blowing in the wind. Louisiana never really got cold.

"Danny, what's wrong," She asked him as soon as the doors shut behind them, "you're not dying, are you?"

He chuckled. Gwen always seemed to jump to conclusions, "No, I'm not dying.."

"Is Ellen okay?" She asked. His smile faltered when she brought her up.

"Yes, Ellen is doing fine as well. Perfect health."

Gwen looked around confused, "Then what the hell is wrong, if no one's dying?"

He stuffed his hand in his pockets as his mind rambled through the right words, "I'm not who I say I am..."

Gwen blinked a few times, attempting to understand, "What do you mean, Danny?"

"My name isn't Danny - it's Neal."

Her arms crossed her chest as she got closer to him, "Excuse me?"

"My name is Neal George Bennett, son of a corrupt police officer charged for murder." His lower lip quivered as he said it, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, but they never fell.

"You pretended to be someone else, why?"

Neal shook his head, "No. I was moved into Witness Protection with Ellen because of my fathers' murder charge and my name was legally changed to Danny Brooks."

"So, you decided to keep this all from me and not tell me?" Gwen's voice rose, her hands clenched into little fists, "I thought you trusted me enough to let me know about this before!"

Neal gathered up some small courage and walked towards her, reaching his hand out to touch her shoulder before she shrugged him off and moving back away from him, "How was I supposed to tell you something I didn't even know myself until now?"

Gwen stayed silent, looking at the ground below her foot, which was tapping at a fast pace. She bit on her lip to prevent herself from breaking down in tears. He sighed, stepping back himself, not wanting to anger her more than she already was.

"I just wanted to let you know that tonight will be my last night here. I'm leaving and I am not coming back here. I don't even know where I'm headed," his hand went into his tuxedo pocket, pulling out a gold locket with a picture of them both inside, "I just wanted to say goodbye to you before I left."

This time as Neal approached her, she didn't back away and he placed the locket around her neck, "It's pretty cliche, I know, but you always told me how you liked the simple stuff," after laying a last gentle kiss on her cheek, he then began to head towards his car.

"Neal.." She croaked out. Her cheeks were flushed a deep red and her eyes formed tears by the second, causing stains down her face. Neal heard her and locked back up.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to say goodbye like this..." Her mind raced but her feet moved faster, running at him with full speed before stopping, leaving them toe to toe - chest to chest. Her arm snaked around his neck as she kissed him. And he responded just as well by wrapping his arms around her waist. They pulled away a few seconds after and stayed hugging each other tightly. His forehead lying on top of hers.

"I'm going to miss you a lot. Please, be safe," she whispered, "I don't think I could handle something happening to you."

Neal merely nodded before letting go of Gwen's embrace, getting into his car, and driving off into the Louisiana night sky. Once his car was no longer in sight is when the tears plummeted down her cheeks. She just lost the love of her life and Gwen didn't know if she could ever pick the pieces back up again.


	2. Chapter 2

July 11, 1995

Gwen and her parents finally returned home around 11:30. She didn't tell them what had happened and that Neal had left the city - she couldn't. They wouldn't care nor understand her feelings right now. So instead, she took the smarter route and decided to go to bed early.

Arriving in her room, she sat down at her vanity, still in her gown. Streaks of smeared mascara and eyeliner rested on her cheeks. The reflection of the locket on her neck made tears well up even faster in her eyes.

"Why would Neal even give this to me," she thought as she unclasped it. Was it supposed to make her feel pathetic or remind her that she lost probably the only person who she would ever truly love?

Her thumb traced around it, before opening it. A picture of her and Neal from Sophomore Homecoming was inside. She was kissing his cheek and his whole face was beet red. That was back when they first started dating, when they were super awkward around one another.

She stared at it for a minute when she noticed the side of the picture was poking out. She tried to push it back in but within a matter of seconds it popped back out.

"What's back there?" Gwen mumbled under her breath as she removed the picture from the frame of the locket, revealing a rolled up piece of paper. Confused, she unrolled it.

_Even though I left, I will still be here to help you. I am leaving an email address for emergencies only. Good luck in your future._

_-N.B_

The email was scrawled sloppily below the message and suddenly felt a little bit better that she still, somewhat, had a way to contact Neal if she wanted, or needed.

Gwen turned her head towards her nightstand, her alarm clock reading 12:08 in big red letters. Sighing, she took a wet rag and cleaned her face of the makeup, changed into her nightgown, and laid down in her bed.

Her eyes closed, the image of an older version of her once again being reunited with her first love and living happily ever after.

But would she ever?

Who knows.

* * *

March 16, 2015

_Gwen, I am need of your help. I don't want to explain it through email, because you never really know who else is reading this. All I can say is that my life is in extreme danger. If you could please spare a few minutes and meet me at the Guggenheim Museum at 3 p.m. sharp, I owe you big time._

_-N.B_

Gwen read the email over one last time as she stood in front of the museum. It was 2:55, only five minutes to three. Her instinct was telling her that Neal was waiting and she was nervous on the inside. It's been years since she had last seen Caffrey before he left St. Louis.

Years and years of not being in contact with one another, this day has finally come. She had even dressed as nice as she could - simple cap sleeve black dress, white pumps, and a black hat to match. If only if it were on different circumstances.

After checking her surroundings and sucking in a deep breath of air, Gwen put her phone in her purse, finally sauntered into the museum. She moved one foot in front of the other in a womanly fashion, with the utmost greatest posture. None of the security guards bothered to give her a second look.

'Where is he?' She thought, looking around. There weren't many people here to begin with, but there were several men in suits. One was staring at a replica of the Mona Lisa, but he had a beard, that couldn't be Neal. Another was staring at a Van Gogh masterpiece, but he was a tad too heavy set to be him. Lastly, there was one man dressed in a nice blue suit, wearing a fedora, and he was observing a modern statue made by an up-and-coming artist.

Grinning to herself, she silently walked over to the statue and even closer to the man. Gwen could feel his arm tense up for a few seconds before relaxing again.

"It's nice to see you again.." He grinned, his straight, white teeth and Gwen could slowly feel her heart race like it once used to.

Hope you've all enjoyed this update. Please comment any mistakes you notice and feel free to ask any questions. :) Update should be coming soon - Neal will finally reveal what's going on to Gwen.


End file.
